Magic Hammer

[DireSickFish]

So I like to give players magic items with unique effects and would like the playgrounds help. There is a magic hammer used by an Azer King that the PC's are helping he's going to give the players. The party is level 5, soon to be 6.

This hammer acts as a key to a castle on the plane of fire so later int he adventure it can be powered up when they use it to unlock the castle. The Azer made the castle way back but only recently got the key back from an Efreeti.

Right now I'm thinking of making it magic for the purposes of overcoming DR and giving it +1d6 fire damage. This seems a bit bland to me. Any advice on special powers for a hammer that's also a key made by Azer?

[Eriol]

Well here's one thing that may be unexpected: make its effect ICE, not fire. Make it a powerful relic from that plane BECAUSE it did ice/cold damage. Thus it works as a key, because all the native denizens of the plane try to heat up and/or something else heat/fire based to break in, and nothing works, but something of ice DOES work.

And as for other powers, you could always give it 1/day of the Knock spell, or Arcane Lock, or something. Kind of key-ish related either way.

[JackPhoenix]

Well here's one thing that may be unexpected: make its effect ICE, not fire. Make it a powerful relic from that plane BECAUSE it did ice/cold damage. Thus it works as a key, because all the native denizens of the plane try to heat up and/or something else heat/fire based to break in, and nothing works, but something of ice DOES work.

And as for other powers, you could always give it 1/day of the Knock spell, or Arcane Lock, or something. Kind of key-ish related either way.

Seconding this. After all, fire is pretty useless in Elemental plane where everything and everyone is made from it.

[MBControl]

I'm liking the ice idea, but want to mention an alternate thought. I like the cold aspect, but you could make it a mysterious flame that burns cold.

Ice may still melt (i know it's magical) but cold fire would not, and it would be extremely rare. What if it's anti-fire, a blaze that actually absorbs and nullifies heat? It might have a different color flame, maybe green . . .

[Democratus]

1/day, on a successful hit against an elemental creature, casts the Banishment spell on the target.

Might even make it more specific and just effects elementals of the Fire subtype.

[DireSickFish]

1/day, on a successful hit against an elemental creature, casts the Banishment spell on the target.

Might even make it more specific and just effects elementals of the Fire subtype.

Oh that's tempting. I could then have the prison filled with creatures that they successfully banished on their adventures.

[JoeJ]

1/day, on a successful hit against an elemental creature, casts the Banishment spell on the target.

Might even make it more specific and just effects elementals of the Fire subtype.

A BAN-ish hammer?

[Kane0]

Rimefire
Rimefire is a beutifully forged cold iron warhammer. Its head is wreathed in a constant blue flame, cool to the touch at all times.
Rimefire is a +1 Warhammer capable of draining heat from those it strikes. When you hit a living creature you deal an additional +1d6 cold damage, and as a reaction when you take fire damage Rimefire can grant you resistance to fire damage for one minute. Once you use this power Rimefire cannot bestow it upon you again until the next dawn.

[DireSickFish]

While a cool concept for an ice or cold flame hammer the party just gave up the opportunity for cold related powers/items when they turned on an Aurlite priestess. The Azer plot is somewhat of a foil to that one, thematically at least.

Perhaps something smithing related if not key related as the Key could stoke the fires that run the castle?

Thanks for all the ideas thus far.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Well, it could give the wielder some traits that make them more like azers - like how the Belt of Dwarvenkind makes you more dwarfy. Perhaps it confers immunity to fire and poison. Or makes it so your skin is burning hot?

Alternatively, it could allow you to cast Heat Metal once per day. Or it could function as a set of smith's tools that can be used without access to a forge / furnace.

[RickAllison]

I have an idea that might make sense. Azers are mortal enemies of the efreet, their creators and slavers. They are mutually immune to fire damage, so it would make little sense to make a weapon whose bonus abilities are useless against your primary enemy. However, while the Azer are immune to poison, neither the efreeti nor their salamander slaves are even resistant to that. By making magic weapons infused with poison, the Azer create weapons that are fully functional against their former masters and their slaves while being useless against the Azer. Seems like the perfect fit.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I have an idea that might make sense. Azers are mortal enemies of the efreet, their creators and slavers. They are mutually immune to fire damage, so it would make little sense to make a weapon whose bonus abilities are useless against your primary enemy. However, while the Azer are immune to poison, neither the efreeti nor their salamander slaves are even resistant to that. By making magic weapons infused with poison, the Azer create weapons that are fully functional against their former masters and their slaves while being useless against the Azer. Seems like the perfect fit.

Rimefire...

Since this campaign also includes an ice-themed faction, perhaps you could introduce paired artifacts: Rimefire, the poisonous hammer, and Rimefang (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20505579&postcount=1), the poisonous sword. It's a nice little mirror-image, both in the name and the enchantment, and it means that whoever the PCs side with, their opponents will have an equal-and-opposite weapon to fight them with. Very storybook. Much heroic.

Not that I'm trying to shoehorn my own homebrew in on the thinnest of pretexts... :smallcool:

[tieren]

And as for other powers, you could always give it 1/day of the Knock spell, or Arcane Lock, or something. Kind of key-ish related either way.

I like the knock spell idea.

It would be fun if the party found a delicate locked jewelry box or something and the wielder offers to open it with his mighty hammer, gives it a gentle tap and it springs open.

[N810]

Magically returns when thrown, whether it hits or not.